Ask Anni
by Wherever Juliet Lies
Summary: When a mysterious lioness appears in the Pridelands, Kovu can't figure out why he is so allured by her. But, this lioness carries a dark secret that could destroy all peace in the Pridelands...a secret that can destroy love.
1. Chapter 1

The shadows are long and she fears that if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down.

So she ran.

She ran fast and hard; until each and every over-strained muscle in her body ached.

Left foot. Right foot. Left, right, left.

She didn't slow her pace, she only gained speed.

Straining her legs to stretch further with every movement.

The hard slap of each tired paw forcefully smacking the ground soothed her. She knew, with every hard thump of her paws, she was covering more distance.

She looked forward, never turned around. For fearing if she did so, her past would be right behind her.

Following her.

So, she continued to run.

As far from her past as possible.

Until, finally, she collapsed from exhaustion.

Unable to move, she laid still...waiting for death to take her.

Dying, meant her past could never hurt her, the way it did before.

* * *

><p>"I...I don't think I'm ready to do this," a dark-furred lion mumbled to himself as he paced around the watering hole.<p>

Staring into the water, he saw his reflection...his _wretched_ reflection!

In anger, he splashed the water with his paw.

Growling, he sprinted away from the watering hole, he needed to get his steam out somehow.

Voices echoed in his head, so he ran faster, but the voices got louder:

_I now see the path to our glorious return to power!_

"No!" the lion shouted to the air and gained speed.

_You don't belong here._

_You're even weaker than I thought! Get out of the way._

_If you do not fight, then you will die as well._

_ You are ready. Nice, very, nice. You have the same blackness in your soul that Scar had. _

He roared.

After his mother's death, he assumed his past would stop haunting him.

Apparently not.

Growling, he slowed down to a walk and cursed to himself-then he stopped. All of a sudden, he stood still, to the sight of a lioness laying helplessly in the grass. She looked dead.

He walked over to her, his face was scrunched up in a mix of confusion and terror-not that he'll ever admit it, but he was fearful that the lioness was dead.

Quickly, as if as instinct, he nuzzled at her paw. "Hey, wake up."

Nothing.

He pushed harder, until she moaned.

Sighing a breath of relief, he picked her up from her neck and flipped her onto his back. _Water_, he thought,_ she needs water._

Once the lioness was placed comfortably on his back, he raced to the watering hole.

He had one chance to save the poor lioness, and he didn't want to waste any time. And, time was precious when it came to saving a life.

**Author's Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Sorry it is kind of short...please review, thank you. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Once Kovu reached the watering hole, he gently let the lioness slid off his back near the water.

In one hurried movement, he repeatedly splashed water on her face, until she finally coughed.

He sighed.

She coughed.

Feebly opening her eyes to the sight of a dark brown lion with piercing emerald eyes. His sturdy figure made his look intimidating.

The pink vertical scar stretching over his left eye added to his dark look.

The lioness didn't even flinch at the sight of him, though. She ignored his presence altogether.

Instead, she moaned and tried to stand.

"Drink," the dark-furred lion commanded, nodding toward the water.

She tried to speak, but her voice got caught in her throat and turned into a dry cough.

"Drink."

"I-I'm...fine," she managed to say, weakly.

"Do you want to die?"

"Yes."

Kovu felt as if his heart stopped beating for a moment, how could she say such a thing?

Who was this mysterious lioness, and why did she welcome death?

He stared at her, trying to read her emotion.

She had soft features: the mud covered her coppery-brown pelt well, giving the illusion of a auburn coat, instead. She _was _beautiful, but too plain looking to be called breathtaking. Her dark almond shaped eyes were deep brown, and _if_ she were to smile, they would glow.

Kovu shook his head slowly and repeated his command, "drink."

"I'm fine," was her reply, but her tone showed little confidence.

Surely, she knew it herself, if she didn't drink, she would die.

And, that was just fine, she thought.

"Listen, I didn't run all the way over here, trying to _save your life_, for you to just say 'no thanks, I'm just gonna die!'"

The lioness snorted, "I never asked for your help."

"No, but you needed it."

"Why didn't you just let me die, what makes me so special that you felt the need to save me?"

Kovu didn't answer.

They stared at each other for a while.

Moments past, no one spoke.

Finally, the lioness broke her gaze and leaned her head into the water.

She took a big gulp of the cool water, then lifted her soaked muzzle up and met Kovu's gaze again.

"There, I drank."

Then, as swiftly as she could manage(which was actually very feebly, considering her health state) she turned and started to walk away.

"Wait," Kovu jumped in front of her, blocking her path. "You need rest."

"I'm fine," narrowing her eyes, she growled. "Move."

Kovu stood still, but ever slightly moved his head a little closer to her's.

"No, I'm not letting you leave," he smirked a charming smile.

She gave him a death stare. And walked proudly around him.

He didn't stop her, he watched as she walked away.

Suddenly, she felt dizzy. Fumbled a few steps, and fainted.

**Author's Note: Yes, short, again...ugh! I am so sorry, I just have a few...things going on in my life, I couldn't give myself enough time towork out a longer chapter...but, hey, a short chapter is better than no chapter, right? Well...please review. :)**

**I hope this chapter isn't completely awful. :P**


	3. Chapter 3

She awoke to see many faces, staring at her. All were unfamiliar; except for one: a dark brown lion with a bushy black mane. His deep green eyes aimed right at her, making her blush.

"W-where am I?" she asked, trying to stand, but gave up, and decided to lay on her side.

A soothing voice spoke out from the crowd of lions, it was soft and feminine: "safe," the voice purred.

The lioness looked to see the owner of the voice: a middle aged lioness with beautiful vanilla colored fur. Her light green-blue eyes brightened as she smiled a smile, that seemed rather perfect.

"I'm Nala, and this is my mate, Simba-" she nodded in the direction of a middle aged golden furred lion with a thick auburn mane-"Kovu told us what happened...you're welcome to stay with our pride, until you gain your health back."

Kovu smirked.

"I...I thank you, but...I don't want to intrude"

She honestly didn't care if she intruded or not; that was just an excuse so she didn't have to stay.

"Oh, please," Simba chuckled, "you're welcomed with open arms. We insist, we would be heartbroken to hear the news of you dead in the savanna."

The lioness sighed, Simba and Nala seemed friendly enough. "Okay, thank you." Her voice was barley above a murmur.

After a few seconds of itchy silence, the lioness realized she had forgotten something: "I'm Anni."

"Well, Anni," Simba smiled, "welcome to Pride Rock."

"Get some rest, Anni." Nala said softly, "we'll check up on you soon."

Anni nodded, and watched the small crowd pad away with their Queen and King; obviously they lost interest in the newcomer, and had their minds set on hunting.

All left, but Kovu. He stood there, smirking at Anni.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say: welcome."

"Thanks," she muttered, her eyes staring at the ground.

Kovu stood there for a few more moments, looking at the lioness.

What was it about this lioness that made her so intriguing?

Was it her pelt? _No. _Of course, he admired the way her coat was a coppery-brown, with hints of auburn in it, but it wasn't that. And, even though he thought her dark eyes where hypnotizing, it wasn't that either...there was, something about her that he...really liked. He just, couldn't comprehend what, exactly, it was.

He shook his head, mostly to himself, and walked away.

Anni let out a breath of relief, she was finally alone in the cave.

She rolled from her side to her stomach and closed her eyes.

_I'll find a way to escape this, Pride Rock. And, I know, I can't run from my past, but there is one way to escape it: death. _

And, with that thought in her mind, her lips curled into a smile, and she drifted off, to sleep.

**Author's Note: short, again...sorry. But this seemed like it's own chapter, the rest of it wouldn't of flowed so good if it was in this chapter...if that makes sense. Ha. Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review. :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Kiara smiled as she spotted Kovu walking out of the cave.

Kovu smiled back at her.

"Dad's finally letting me hunt!" she giggled, glad to take place in such event.

"That's great, just don't scare off the food."

Kiara stuck her tongue out at him, laughing. She pranced off to the rest of the lionesses, getting ready for the hunt.

Kovu looked back at the cave, shook his head, and watched Kiara talking to Nala.

He had to get Anni out of his mind.

So, as the lionesses went off hunting, Kovu decided to take a walk.

Kovu walked around the watering hole; that has been the place he spends most of his thinking.

The sun was starting to set, and stars began to appeared, indicating night was approaching.

_I wonder if Anni ever star-gazed before? _

Kovu slashed his claws through the dirt. Why was he thinking of Anni?

It seemed he couldn't _stop_ thinking about her. Yet, when was it an option to _start_ thinking about her?

He barley knew her, and more importantly, he had _Kiara._

So, why was he thinking of Anni when he had Kiara?

"Kovu?" A deep voice interrupted his thoughts; it was Simba, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. "I'm going to Rafiki's, he might have something that can help Anni. Can you check on her, make sure she is okay?"

"She's not a cub, she can go five minutes without being checked on."

Actually, Kovu fancied the idea of seeing Anni, but, that's why he fought it.

"She's ill," was Simba's reply.

Kovu rolled his eyes, trying to act like he didn't _want_ to check on her. Even though, he felt the _need_ to see her.

"Okay, I'll see how she's doing."

And, with that said, Simba nodded and walked away.

Sighing, Kovu walked back to Pride Rock, and entered the cave.

"Hey," he causally said.

Kovu was glad to see Anni in a sitting position, that meant she regained _some _strength.

"Hi," she muttered.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel like dying," then, shortly after that said, she laughed.

Kovu couldn't tell if she was kidding or not, but by the way her lips curled into a devious smirk, he decided to drop the subject.

Scooting closer to Anni, he smirked, "death isn't the only way to relive pain, you know."

"I know," Anni said, "but it's the only way to get rid of my past. _Forever._"

Kovu felt a wave of sadness wash over him, he didn't like the fact Anni was... suicidal.

"So, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, why are you so...?" Kovu trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Morbid?" Anni offered.

Kovu laughed, "I was going to ask, why do you want to die so badly?"

Anni hesitated to answer, could she _trust_ him?

Of course not, she didn't even know him...but, she felt, a connection...as strange as it seemed. Eyeing the ground, she pondered her choices.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me," he gave her a soft smile. "I know the past can hurt, I've had my fair share of pain."

Anni sighed, "how did you get that scar?"

As quickly as she blurted it out, she regretted it.

But, Kovu didn't mind the question. "Long story," he said, "and I have my mother to thanks."

He snorted after that comment, indicating to Anni that he had to no thanks to his mother at all.

"I'm sorry."

"About my scar? Don't be."

"No, about your mother."

Silence.

"It's...it's okay." Kovu finally replied.

Anni hesitated again, before saying: "Have you ever thought of death? Like...to escape it all?"

"No," Kovu said, a little too quickly.

Anni's cheeks flushed, "I guess I'm just..._crazy._"

He nuzzled her, "_nonsense_."

And, to his pleasant surprise, she nuzzled back.

"So, did you meet Kiara yet?" Kovu asked, still nuzzling her.

"Who?" Anni questioned, pulling away from him.

Kovu smirked.

"Nobody," he murmured, then nuzzled her some more, "I hope you feel better, soon."

**Author's Note: two chapters in one night. :D I feel so accomplished. Haha, anyways...I hope this chapter is good... :) Review? **


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